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Deported Veterans: Ivan Ocon Naturalization Application

The clinic represents Ivan Ocon, a veteran from Las Cruces, New Mexico who served six years in the U.S. Army and deployed to Jordan in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom, in his petition for military naturalization. 
 
Mr. Ocon was deported to Mexico in 2016 due to a criminal conviction that under Supreme Court precedent no longer bars his naturalization. Since then, he has served his community in Mexico as a leader of the Deported Veterans Support House and various other organizations devoted to community development and veterans’ issues. Along with his application, filed in September 2021, Mr. Ocon submitted numerous letters of support from individuals and organizations he has supported for years, including from the AFL-CIO.
 
Mr. Ocon’s case is one of many. Hundreds of veterans—despite their enormous sacrifices—have been deported after serving in the military. His petition is a reminder that to honor their service and sacrifice, the current administration must act affirmatively to repatriate deported veterans.  

Ivan Ocon Petition for Writs of Audita Querela and Coram Nobis (filed November 12, 2021)
 

Selected Media Coverage

Reyes Mata III, Veteran who was deported for felony just wants to come home, Albuquerque journal (November 21, 2021)

Ben Schamisso, Deported Veterans Push to Make their Way Back to U.S., Newsy (November 11, 2021)

Anastasiya Bolton, Deported veteran files for U.S. citizenship with the help of Yale law clinic, KENS5 (Nov. 1, 2021)

KRWG Public Media Ivan Ocon Interview (Oct. 25, 2021)

Algernon D’Ammassa, ‘I lost everything’: Deported Army veteran from Las Cruces petitions for return home, Las Cruces Sun-News (Sept. 22, 2021)

Jennifer Orth-Veillon, “I Never Left Anybody” – Fighting for Veterans Left Behind by the Country They Served, The War Horse (Sept. 23, 2021)

Clinic Helps Deported Veteran Petition for Naturalization, Yale Law School (Sept. 22, 2021)